Skipton Sunday Strolls

We went to an afternoon Mass on Sunday, so our morning was free to explore. We drove to Skipton, whose main attractions are the medieval castle and the canal. We made plenty of other unexpected discoveries, too.

Driving by the castle, we realized that it wasn't open for tours until noon (being Sunday), so our original plan to see it at 10:00 had to change. The roads did not cooperate either and we wound up far outside of town. We saw a little train station called Embsay and thought they'd have a cafe or some spot to get a morning snack. No cafe could be found. There was a charming steam engine and a cute little station. Jacob really enjoyed looking at the engine, which was puffing out steam. Three or four guys were working on it so it would be ready for the next run at 10:30.

Not Thomas, but still cool

The station house wasn't open yet

Jacob was ready to find more fun quick, quick, QUICK!

Driving back to Skipton was not too hard though the roads misdirected us again and we wound up in a different part of town that we didn't recognize. It worked out for the best since we parked in the downtown area and could walk to any number of stores and attractions. The only snag was the time--still 09:30 on a Sunday, so not much was open. We found a coffee shop and had some snacks. I had another scone with the works, including clotted cream this time. Yummy!!

Clotted cream and a cute jam jar

Lucy enjoyed her chocolate treat

Another patron of the coffee shop had his wife and child with him. My wife asked about playgrounds in the area, figuring they'd be open no matter what. He directed us to one not far away. We walked down the road and over the canal to get there. Getting over the canal was tricky. As we approached the bridge a man came up, unchained it, and swung it around so that his boat could make it past. Jacob found this fascinating.

Hey, the bridge is misaligned!

Here comes the boat

passing through

All that work deserves an ice cream

Right across the canal was a park with the foretold playground. Lucy had a great time playing there. Jacob was unenthusiastic. It soon became quite warm (almost 20 degrees Celsius!). We decided to head back downtown along the canal. We saw many ducks, bridges, and boats, including one I wanted to ride.

Next stop, the Grey Havens

Getting to the heart of town, Lucy charmed some people into talking to us. They said we could ride a canal boat around the city and castle (including under the castle, which sounds very intriguing) for thee pounds. Unfortunately, we were getting close to nap time by that point. Jacob was starting to get cranky becoming uncharming. We decided we'd come back on a more felicitous day and see the castle and the canals from a boat.

Never grumpy, always fun!

It was a nice adventure, full of expected and unexpected surprises. We didn't get to see the castle but discovered canals and another fun playground. We made a few acquaintances and are ready to come back and appreciate the town even more.